Great is not something you are given in life . Great is something you must take in life.
Hi , I’m Coach Rob Opie , and the subject of this week’s COACHING NEWSLETTER is
Stepping inside Great
We will be going inside the game plans of the great champions of Business, Sport and Life – to explore what defines human great.
If you want to be great – you gotta know what human great looks like.
From rugby greats like Richie McCaw to business greats like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs , human greatness leaves footprints.
Let’s explore that.
Every game has a winner. Every winner has a game plan.
We have arrived at week two of our 11 week journey from Good to Great to Greater ……..
And one of the things the great champions are pretty good at – is doing reality checks – to see exactly where they stand in regards to their current game plan.
At THE GAME PLAN we use a simple Everest Barometer to do this – as pictured below :
Please give yourself a score (1-10) on our GAME PLAN BAROMETER :
This score should be how YOU perceive your own CURRENT GAME PLAN to be – considering both your professional and personal life.
Here are the ratings : 2 = below poor ; 3 = Poor ; 4 = Below average ; 5 = Average ; 6 = Above average; 7 = Good ; 8 = Great ; 9 = Greater ; 10 = Perfect .
Keep your score to yourself .We will be coming back to it at the conclusion of the programme .
Remember the key objective of this online coaching programme is to :
Power up your Game . Power up your Life.
Watch what happens . Please stay with me and see how we can power up your deserve value in a 11 short weeks .
For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories. Plato
First up please take a minute or two to watch the trailer to Richie’s documentary . It’s says a lot about chasing great………
Richie was fortunate to have had a fine mentor who instilled in him what it is to chase great from an early age.
At age eighteen ,his uncle John Bigsy McLay , asked him what he wanted to be.
His immediate reply:
AN ALL BLACK.
His uncle’s retort :
Richie, you do not just want to be an All Black, YOU want to be a Great All Black. Write it down, sign it, and put it up somewhere
Richie could not bring himself to write it down in full – as he had not yet made the national age group team – so he wrote it down on a McDonald’s napkin as :
G.A.B.
A GREAT ALL BLACK
Back home, Richie pinned the napkin up high on his cupboard – where no one else could see it. It was his signed stairway to heaven – committed at eighteen with ‘Head and Heart’.
Those three letters drove him. The night before each rugby match, Richie would write a list of things he wanted to achieve in the game. Most importantly at the bottom of the list came: G.A.B.
Putting the prefix GREAT before whatever it is you want to do and achieve in life – significantly powers up your game.
It sets the stretch.
It sets the commitment.
It sets the tone.
It sets one up for the way things will get done
It lays the foundation for a high performance culture of great.
Richie went on to earn a record 148 caps for the All Blacks, lead his country to two World Cup victories – whilst cementing an honor code amongst his fellow All Blacks – a code which any sporting team would be proud of.
Richie McCaw – an ordinary guy doing extra-ordinary things – a shining example of stepping inside of great.
The thing that has made him a great player is his ability to want to get better – his game has evolved over time, hence why he is probably, if not the greatest we have had. All Black Coach Steven Hansen
BUT WHAT DEFINES HUMAN GREAT ?
People often equate human great with achieving SUCCESS in life – and in today’s materialistic world success is often linked to how many zeros one may have in one’s bank account .
But , if that was the true measure of human great, then Mother Theresa , Mahatma Gandhi and even Nelson Mandela would have failed in their pursuit.
What sets these greats apart ?
Human great is far more than money – or fleeting success.
Human Great has three defining S’s :
SUCCESS & SIGNIFICANCE SUSTAINED
It’s never a one day game ,as it’s one thing getting to the top , but another thing to stay there .
Sport has so many stories of greats who achieved success and significance , BUT could not sustain great.
Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong are stand outs for going from hero to zero – when one’s inner game plan is far from aligned with one’s outer game plan .
In the business world , Bill Gates is a fine example of sustaining great , aligning one’s inner and outer game plan – and aligning one’s professional and personal purpose in life .
Bill Gates started Microsoft with a purpose:
to empower people to do more .
Today nothing has changed for Bill Gates. His personal purpose in life purpose is to empower people to do more – through his foundation’s crusade to fight infectious dis-eases worldwide.
Bill Gates has all the S’s of human great optimally aligned . And he just happens to be the richest man on this planet .
Obviously he’s doing things right – doing the right things – with a very high level game plan which is :
Made of The Right Stuff
Another fine example of human great is Steve Jobs, albeit his tragic premature death at age 56.( More on that in Game – Changer Number 8 : No Health .No Wealth)
The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you figure out why. Mark Twain
Great individuals, Great companies all start with ‘why’ .
Not ‘ what’’.
Steve Jobs did not start with ‘the what’.
Yes, Apple certainly make great computers.That’s ‘ the what’ in Apple , but what sets Apple apart is their relentless focus on ‘their why’ – their burning desire to challenge the status quo :
To think differently
That’s what made Apple great.
Using this analogy in the sporting environment , there is no doubting that A.B. de Villiers’s is a great cricketer.
That’s ”the what’’ in his life , but what sets him apart as a superstar is his burning desire to keep his focus on ’’the why ”
– an understanding that his why is :
To Entertain, To Educate, To Enrich the lives of others with genius sporting ability
That’s human great
It’s a lot more than just wanting to play cricket. Sometimes I even surprise myself with the shot I play – but that’s more about the crowd being there . AB de Villiers
PRACTICAL TIPS FOR THE WEEK :
Here are the practical tips summed up if you want to step inside great :
1. Know what human great is.
Human great is Success and Significance Sustained.
2. Use the prefix GREAT before whatever it is you want to do in life .
It creates and drives a culture of great.
3. Align your professional and personal purpose closely . Be like Bill Gates
4. Start with WHY , not what. Be like Steve Jobs
and take heed of some sage advice from Maya Angelou :
You can only become accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal . Instead pursue the things you love to do and do them so well that people cannot take their eyes off you : Maya Angelou
INSPIRATIONAL VIDEOS FOR THE WEEK:
Have a look at the latest video which we put together at THE GAME PLAN , to pay tribute to great South Africans who inspire us to be greater .
In the video : GROWING SOUTH AFRICANS GREATER , we got to 53 , but who else should we be adding to our video in your opinion ?
Please let me know .
Music is courtesy of Paul Almeida at HOT91.9FM
Production by Dan Wessels at Plume Productions
Then how about this video where we go way back to January 1985 , when 45 of The USA’s greatest artists came together in a small studio in LA to record: USA FOR AFRICA – WE ARE THE WORLD – to do something special together – to do something significant together , while recognizing that
an urgent common cause is far more important to them – than their own musical differences or individual renown
It highlights the importance of SIGNIFICANCE in the human great equation :
Human Great = Success & Significance Sustained
Till next week when we will be exploring what I believe to be – the most potent of all the GAME CHANGERS :
GAME CHANGER NUMBER THREE : BRANDING IS EVERYTHING
The great champions brand themselves.They invest in themselves.
I will be sharing how to build a potent professional and personal brand for yourself, one that serves as your compass in good times ,and your scaffolding in tough times.
SOME WORTHWHILE FURTHER READING
The man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.
~ Mark Twain
Simon Sinek’s book START WITH WHY is a great – sharing stories such as how Steve Jobs created one of the greatest companies in the world .
Steve Jobs started with why – and focused on ”the why”.
He did not start a company that made great computers ( the what) – he started a company who wanted to think differently ,
to change the status quo
THE GAME CHANGERS – ROB OPIE , foreword by John Robbie
How to achieve your greatest potential in your professional and personal life
This book is not published yet, but it will be yours on 1st December for Mahala . I will be taking all the feedback I get from this online programme and bolstering the book .Please do be my ghost writer, by sending me any of your stories Insight , Innovation and Inspiration.
In his latest book , Rob suggests that everyone can find the key to real achievement in life. Finding real purpose need not be random. It is an awesome proposal and one that must be investigated by anyone who fears being ordinary – John Robbie.
GO GREAT . AND PLEASE REMEMBER THE FREE ADDED VALUE AVAILABLE TO YOU ON THIS 11 WEEK PROGRAMME :
I’M COACHING LIVE BY EMAIL :
If you need any help , please email me any of your coaching questions – and I will get back to you by email.
All emails are 100 % confidential.
GET IN TOUCH . robopie@thegameplan.co.za
THANK YOU CELL C : A special thank you to Jose and Doug at Team Cell C for their continued support of our GROWING SOUTH AFRICANS GREAT initiative at THE GAME PLAN .
Rob Opie is a Brand Strategist , Entrepreneur ,Speaker, Author and Performance Coach.
He helps teams and individuals to achieve their greatest potential in life.
TO BOOK ROB TO TALK AT YOUR NEXT CORPORATE TEAM EVENT , email me personally at :
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You can either book a TWO HOUR one-on- one coaching session( dependent on your location and my travel plans ), or a two ONE HOUR phone coaching sessions.(or skype audio): Cost R1000.00.
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THE GAME CHANGERS . POWER UP YOUR GAME .POWER UP YOUR SALES
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And here’s some more Insight, Innovation and Inspiration for Mahala :
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